Data Review of Electronic Components: Detecting Problems Prior to Installation

• Activity Number: 287
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Defense and National Security
• Author(s): Anduin Touw*+
• Companies: The Boeing Company
• Keywords: Part Average Testing ; Test Review ; Statistical Process Control

Abstract

For years the concept of "out of family" electronic parts has been discussed in reliability and performance evaluations. However, in practice, most parts are still reviewed simply by specification limits. While some part producers in large volume industries, such as automotive or telecommunications, have imposed "part average testing" or lot evaluations in their standard test protocol, such activities have not been widely accepted in the aerospace industry. Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems has established a data review of many electronic parts used on their satellite systems. This review identifies out of family parts and requires technical evaluation by the subject matter experts. The process has also successfully identified test errors at suppliers, before the supplier caught the error in house. Overall, the system has helped Boeing parts engineers better understand their products and suppliers and improved the quality of the parts installed in flight hardware. This paper will describe the process applied at Boeing, provide examples of the types of problems identified by the technique, and discuss the quality impact the process can have on products.